Rams Promote Troy Hill
- The Rams have signed cornerback Troy Hill from the practice squad and placed tight end Cory Harkey on injured reserve, the team announced today. Hill had been waived following a DUI arrest, but has now earned a second chance on the roster.
Rams Eyeing Seahawks Coach Pete Carroll
Let the rumors begin. In a city dominated by celebrity gossip, it only makes sense that there will be rampant speculation about the Rams’ head coaching vacancy and several big names bandied about. The “power brokers” within the Rams organization have Seahawks coach Pete Carroll high atop their wishlist, multiple sources tell Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports. That group includes owner Stan Kroenke and vice president of football operations Kevin Demoff. 
[RELATED: Pete Carroll Fined $200K By NFL]
There are a few important things to note here. One, Carroll is under contract with Seattle through the 2019 season, and the Seahawks aren’t about to give their star coach away to a divisional rival. Secondly, there’s no indication in Robinson’s report that the Rams have reached out to Carroll. Third, it’s not known whether the job would be of interest to the former USC head coach, though some believe that a return to California would appeal to him. Robinson’s report is clear on all of these points: the interest is there, but it is not necessarily mutual, nor is it particularly likely to come to fruition.
“Pete makes sense in a lot of ways,” one source said. “There is already a defensive core in place for him to work with. He has deep coaching ties across [the NFL] and knows how to build an offensive staff that can bring along [Goff]. … He’s a California guy at heart and has a track record there with the L.A. fan base [from his time at USC]. He’s also a great, great coach.”
Would Carroll consider leaving the Seahawks? Would the Seahawks even entertain the notion of sending a Super Bowl winning coach to another NFC West team? And, when push comes to shove, are the Rams ready to give Carroll a record-setting contract and forfeit several draft picks? It’s a situation to keep an eye on this offseason, but the roadblocks here are massive.
For what it’s worth, Carroll responded in the affirmative today when asked if he’d rule out any chance of wanting to coach the Rams (Twitter link via Jack Wang of the Daily News).
Rams Fire Jeff Fisher
The Rams have fired head coach Jeff Fisher, according to a team announcement. Special teams coordinator John Fassel serve as interim head coach, NFL reporter Rand Getlin tweets. 
On Sunday, the Rams were crushed by the Falcons as Fisher tied for the most losses of any NFL head coach in league history. He is now deadlocked with Dan Reeves with 165 career losses. Reeves, meanwhile, has 190 career wins while Fisher has only 173. In his 22 years of coaching, Fisher has made the playoffs only six times.
“Making a decision such as this – especially during the season – is one of the most difficult in sports,” said Rams owner Stan Kroenke said in a statement. “I have great respect for Jeff as a coach, person, father and friend. He has worked tirelessly despite some challenging circumstances. He played an integral role in helping this team make history in returning the NFL to Los Angeles, and we always will be grateful for his commitment and dedication to our organization. However, this is the right time to make a change as our performance has not lived up to my or our fans’ expectations. We all are focused on improving as an organization and building a team that makes Los Angeles proud. Our mission is to celebrate a Super Bowl title with our fans in Los Angeles. Today is the first step to bringing us closer to that goal.”
Just over one week ago, the Rams formally announced an extension for Fisher to take him through 2017 with an option for 2018. The newly-minted deal may provide Fisher some form of a severance package now that he has been let go.
This, of course, is a lost season for the Rams and a bad start for the franchise in their brand new market. The Rams were not a popular playoff pick given their question marks at the quarterback position, but few expected them to struggle this badly. Someday, Jared Goff may prove to be a top quarterback, but he sat for the first half of the season and he has looked green ever since taking over the starting job.
It’s not immediately clear what Fisher’s dismissal will mean for GM Les Snead. As of this writing, Snead still has his job, so he may be given an opportunity to turn things around this spring. Rams COO Kevin Demoff will address the media later today.
2017 NFL Draft Order Through Most Of Week 14
The final month of the regular season will dictate the playoff futures for teams like the Cowboys, Patriots, Chiefs, and Raiders. For other teams, the postseason is a statistical impossibility. Already, the Jets, Jaguars, Browns, Rams, Bears, and 49ers have been mathematically eliminated. The Chargers, Saints, Panthers, Eagles, Bengals, and Cardinals are not technically out of it, but their chances are remote.
Here’s where those teams and the others not currently ticketed for the playoffs stand in the draft order (Note – Ties are broken by strength of schedule):
- Browns 0-13
- 49ers 1-12
- Jaguars 2-11
- Bears 3-10
- Rams 4-9 (pick belongs to Titans)
- Jets 4-9
- Panthers 5-8
- Chargers 5-8
- Saints 5-8
- Eagles (pick belongs to Browns) 5-8
- Cardinals 5-7-1
- Bengals 5-7-1
- Bills 6-7
- Colts 6-7
- Titans 7-6
- Vikings (pick belongs to Eagles) 7-6
- Packers 7-6
- Redskins 7-5-1
- Ravens 7-5 (Note – The Ravens play their Week 14 game tonight against the Patriots.)
- Dolphins 8-5
Strength of schedule via SB Nation.
Bill Polian Receptive To Front Office Offers
Longtime NFL general manager Bill Polian is open to returning to a front office job, and would “strongly consider” a senior advisory role if offered, according to Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com. The Bears, specifically, could be one option for Polian if Chicago decides to rework its decision-making structure.
[RELATED: Chicago Bears Depth Chart]
The Bears could restructure its front office after the season, per La Canfora, but it’s unclear whether that would mean parting ways with current general manager Ryan Pace. In any event, Polian sounds more open to a “football czar” role in which he could oversee a franchise’s roster machinations and coaching staff from a 30,000-foot view. While the Rams have also been tossed out as a contender for Polian’s services, the veteran executive is said to prefer a Midwestern team.
Polian was thought to be in talks for a advisory role with the Bills prior to the 2015 season, but ultimately decided to remain an ESPN contributor. Polian continued to offer informal advice to Bills owner Terry Pegula in the following months, but indicated that he wasn’t interested in a formal job with Buffalo. “If anybody asks, sure. If anyone has questions, I’m happy to answer and happy to help in any way I can,” Polian said at the time.
Polian, 74, has worked as the general manager of three teams: the Bills, the Panthers, and most recently, the Colts, with whom he won a Super Bowl in 2007. Indianapolis fired him as GM after the 2011 season. A highly-decorated personnel man, Polian is a six-time recipient of the NFL’s Executive of the Year award and a 2015 Hall of Fame inductee.
Rams’ Jeff Fisher, Les Snead Dispute Tension
Although a report yesterday indicated that Rams general manager Les Snead and head coach Jeff Fisher are at odds — and that the problems between the two “have been an open secret in league circles for some time” — both men today disputed any notion of discord in the Los Angeles offices, according to Alden Gonzalez of ESPN.com.
[RELATED: Los Angeles Rams Depth Chart]
“I’m well aware of what has come out, and I can say this: I think it’s painted a picture totally different,” Snead said. “Relationship’s really good. We’ve worked together from the start, in every decision. Every decision that’s made, especially from a personnel standpoint.”
“There’s no issues between Les and I, by no means,” Fisher said. “We agree to disagree. We’ve had a fun run, but we’re certainly disappointed in, as I said on Tuesday, the outcome. We have work to do, but we’re doing it together.” Fisher additionally vowed to locate the source of the story. “When you’re 4-8, people are frustrated, you know? They’re frustrated. We need to find out where it’s coming from.”
The Rams recently extended both Snead and Fisher, though at least Fisher had actually put pen to paper in the summer despite the announcement not coming until this month. Both decision-makers are believed to have been signed through the 2017 season, with Los Angeles ownership likely holding a 2018 option. Fisher, for his part, said he was “unaware” Snead was also handed a new deal, and appeared to take a shot at the club’s recent draft strategy.
Discord Between Rams’ Jeff Fisher, Les Snead?
This week, the Rams drew criticism from all over the football world when they gave extensions to coach Jeff Fisher and GM Les Snead, despite poor on-field results in recent years. Then, in discussing the new deals, Fisher raised eyebrows when he took an apparent shot at Snead. 
“I’m so busy here, I was honestly unaware [Snead] was extended. I’m being honest with you, we’re just working here,” Fisher said. “I look at this as being my responsibility, the win-loss record. We need to do a better job from a personnel standpoint. We’ve had some unfortunate things take place with some high picks in Stedman Bailey and Tre Mason and those kinds of things you don’t anticipate. But we’re moving forward.”
Even though Fisher is believed to have more input in personnel decisions than most coaches, he seems to be blaming Snead for the team’s poor draft record. This was Fisher’s most direct and brutal public criticism of Snead to date, but the problems between the two “have been an open secret in league circles for some time,” Albert Breer of The MMQB writes.
“It pissed me off because I knew it was meant as a shot,” said one Rams source. “You see it under that umbrella—‘We need to do a better job in personnel.’ OK, but you want everyone to think that you have full control. You can’t have it both ways, and it can’t always be the talent. Look at the roster, 2012 to now. In ’12, Jeff did a masterful job with what he was given. But we’ve gotten more talent, and we’ve gotten worse.”
Breer hears from many that the relationship between Fisher and Snead has turned “toxic.” Disagreements between coaches and executives are not uncommon, but it sounds like things have gotten especially bad between these two.
Jeff Fisher Extension Indicates There's "Unfinished Business"
- The Rams have been widely criticized for giving extensions to coach Jeff Fisher and GM Les Snead, but Snead says the new deals mean the team has “unfinished business” to address. “First of all, what it means is, we’re not satisfied with where we’re at. We’ve got unfinished business,” Snead said, according to Rich Hammond of the Los Angeles Daily News. “We think we can get this thing tipped, and that’s our goal. That’s where all the energy is spent. You’re not going to sleep until it gets done. We have great fans and we’ve been supported. It’s unbelievable. Any time you’re having a disappointing season, you feel for the fans first, because they come and they spend their energy and passion, and we’ve got to do a better job.”
[SOURCE LINK]
Rams Could Still Fire Jeff Fisher
- The Rams recently announced an extension for head coach Jeff Fisher, but that doesn’t mean the club won’t part ways with Fisher after the current season, per Alden Gonzalez of ESPN.com. The new deal, which was reportedly agreed to over the summer, only runs through 2017 before containing an option for 2018. As such, Los Angeles wouldn’t be on the hook for much money if it chose to fire Fisher after this year. In fact, the extension is viewed as more of a “token of appreciation” from owner Stan Kroenke to Fisher rather than a sign that Fisher will be around for the long haul, writes Gonzalez.
NFL Spending By Team Over Last Four Seasons
The NFLPA has released the official data on team spending over the last four seasons. The Collective Bargaining Agreement stipulates that each team must utilize 89% of the salary cap over two four-year periods, 2013-16 and 2017-20. As previously reported, the Raiders are the only team that has yet to satisfy that requirement for the closing period. The CBA also requires the league, as a whole, to spend 95% of the cap, in cash, for the same period. That requirement has been easily met.
Here is the full rundown of every team’s spending in declining order:
Philadelphia Eagles – $613,928,134
Denver Broncos – $587,712,791
Seattle Seahawks – $584,305,975
Green Bay Packers – $583,138,740
Miami Dolphins – $577,975,260
Kansas City Chiefs – $575,541,332
Buffalo Bills – $573,647,850
Chicago Bears – $568,301,610
Cincinnati Bengals – $567,289,411
Baltimore Ravens – $562,425,698
San Diego Chargers – $562,232,116
Indianapolis Colts – $556,335,689
Atlanta Falcons – $550,614,572
New York Giants – $543,787,033
Arizona Cardinals – $543,327,538
Los Angeles Rams – $541,957,711
New Orleans Saints – $539,836,498
Tampa Bay Buccaneers – $539,736,102
Minnesota Vikings – $539,162,454
New York Jets – $533,151,519
Washington Redskins – $532,545,662
Pittsburgh Steelers – $530,698,171
Detroit Lions – $530,210,549
Tennessee Titans – $524,505,256
Dallas Cowboys – $523,033,036
Houston Texans – $517,212,166
Jacksonville Jaguars – $516,908,734
Cleveland Browns – $516,158,864
San Francisco 49ers – $514,488,198
New England Patriots – $500,083,836
Carolina Panthers – $495,149,346
Oakland Raiders – $491,433,408